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Docent Academy Resources

Overview

Docent Academy Documents:

Docent Academy Flyer 2023

2023 TRHP Docent Academy Class List – 2023.02.24

Thames River Heritage Park:

Interpreter’s Guide to Thames River Heritage Park – 2023.02.21 – a guide to Park with a resource listing and bibliography for further individual reading and  exploration.

Thames River Heritage Park – YouTube Channel – includes the following videos and more:

New London County Historical Society

Week 1: Mohegan Life and an Overview of Colonial Times to Present

MOHEGAN TRIBE

History
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/explore/heritage/our-history 

Cultural Outreach
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/involvement/cultural-outreach  

Native American Lesson Plans
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/education/lesson-plans

Native American Resources
https://www.mohegan.nsn.us/community/education/relevant-links

First Indian War aka King Phillip’s War
Our Beloved Kin by Lisa Brooks
https://yale.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.12987/yale/9780300196733.001.0001/upso-9780300196733
https://ourbelovedkin.com/awikhigan/index 

Pequot War – 1636-1637
http://pequotwar.org/about/ 
https://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/pequot-war/ 
https://www.colonialwarsct.org/1637.htm 

Videos:

The Mark of Uncas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDSVulkCWY

The Mark of Uncas – Cohegan Rock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8ww94_L8v4

Tantaquidgeon Museum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDSVulkCWY&t=2819s

NEW LONDON

Docent Academy – Week 1 Thames History Overview Presentation by Deborah Donovan

Docent Academy – Week 1 Colonial to Contemporary Times – an outline by New London Historian Sally Ryan.

History of New London Connecticut: from the first survey of the coast in 1612 to 1860 by Frances Manwaring Caulkins.  Available for sale at NLCHS (normally $60 available to Docent Academy participants for $36), or for loan at the Public Library of NL and Groton Library.

History of New London County, Connecticut with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men compiled under the supervision of D. Hamilton Hurd – 1882.

Week 2: Colonial Life on the Thames

Hempsted Houses, CT Landmarks
 
Shaw Mansion, NL County Historical Society
https://www.nlchs.org
 
 
Joshua Hempstead Diary.  The most recent edition is available for sale at the NLCHS.  A new edition with recently found material and newly edited with additional material left out of earlier editions by earlier transcribers, will be available for sale very soon.  At least two or three editions are in local libraries.
 
A Useful Friend: companion to the Joshua Hempstead Diary by Pat Schaefer.  This award winning book contains maps and an index to the last edition of the Diary (Diary itself only indexes people, this book indexes everything else).  It also includes a very good selection of articles written by Pat about subjects relating to life in Colonial New London/Groton.  
 
For Adam’s Sake: A family saga in Colonial New England by Allegra di Bonaventura.  A very rich story of New London in Colonial Days revolving around Joshua Hempstead’s enslaved person, Adam Jackson, but it is about so much more. Libraries best.  Might be available from NLCHS or CT Landmarks. Amazon has hardcover NEW for $6.50 (only three left in stock)  and Kindle for $9.97.
 
Prospero’s American: John Winthrop Jr;, Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture 1606-1676 by Walt Woodward  Libraries probably. $14.99 Kindle edition on Amazon.  Book is over $20.
 
Murder or Mayhem?:  Benedict Arnold’s New London, Connecticut Raid, 1781  by  Dr. Walter L. Powell.  Short and very good paperback on the Raid.

Week 3: American Revolutionary War on the Thames

Fort Griswold Battlefield and State Park
https://www.fortgriswold.org
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Fort-Griswold-Battlefield-State-Park/Overview 

The Battle of Groton Heights and the Burning of New London
https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DEEP/stateparks/parks/TheBattleofGrotonHeightsandtheBurningofNewLondonpdf.pdf

Ebenezer Avery House
https://averymemorialassociation.com/ebavery.htm
https://www.fortgriswold.org/the-ebenezer-avery-house/

Bill Memorial Library
https://www.billmemorial.org 

Griswold by Charles Allyn – The definitive collection of accounts of the Battle of Groton Heights.

The Battle of Groton Heights: A Story of the Storming of Fort Griswold and the Burning of New London on the Sixth of September 1781 by Norman Hammond Burnham (Author), Rufus Avery (Author), Avery Downer (Author) – includes The Narrative of Rufus Avery from the original manuscript and other interesting matter
handsomely illustrated by full-page engravings.

Jordan Freeman Was My Friend by Richard White – set against the backdrop of the American Revolution and based on a the real-life 1781 massacre at Fort Griswold in Connecticut, this fictional book tells the story about a friendship between eleven-year-old Billy Latham and former slave Jordan Freeman.

War Comes to Willy Freeman by Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier – a novel. From Amazon: “Willy Freeman’s life changes forever when she witnesses her father’s death at the hands of the Redcoats and returns home to find that the British have taken her mother as a prisoner to New York City. Willy, disguised as a boy, begins her long search for her mother and luckily finds a haven at the famous Fraunces Tavern. But even with the help of Sam Fraunces and her fellow worker, Horace, Willy knows that to be Black, female, and free leaves her open to danger at every turn. What will tomorrow bring?” 
 
Videos:

Fort Griswold Battlefield State Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5EdHVPXulg

The Battle of Fort Griswold by David Rose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHVwGU-pBgU

Fort Griswold // Connecticut’s Cultural Treasures
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCrOafzl35w

Fort Griswold Battlefield
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=108D7RXaMis

Fort Griswold – Groton Tercentennial Lecture Series
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ2NFCuQu48

Week 4: The Amistad Story and Whaling Industry on the Thames

Whaling on the Thames

New London Custom House home of the New London Custom House Museum and the New London Maritime Society

Whaling and Desutschland Resources courtesy of Deborah Donovan

TRHP Whaling Tour Photos
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/boat-tours/photos-whaling/  
Passcode: whaling 

The Amistad Story on the Thames

Discovering the Amistad

Amistad – National Archives

Amistad Books that Education, Entertain, Empower

The Amistad – How it Began – National Park Service

Week 5: The Military on the Thames

U.S. Navy on the Thames

Submarine Force Library & Museum / U.S.S. Nautilus
https://ussnautilus.org 

USS Nautilus (SSN-571)

Deutschland 

Deutschland Epilogue (as of 2003)

First Submarine heading up the Thames – Circa 1916

U.S. Coast Guard on the Thames

US Coast Guard Academy History

CT History – Founding of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy

Coast Guard Station New London

USCG Barque Eagle

Barque Eagle

Future National Coast Guard Museum

Future National Coast Guard Museum – Why NL

Electric Boat

History of Electric Boat

General Dynamics Electric Boat 

Week 6: Immigration Story on the Thames / Speaking Tips

Irish Immigration Story on the Thames

Avery-Copp House Museum
https://www.averycopphouse.org

Avery-Copp House Museum – Docent Academy Program
thamesriverheritagepark.org/…/Docent-Academy-Avery-Copp-House-Museum-Program.pdf

Public Speaking Tips

THRP Docent Academy – Speaking Skills Outline by Toastmaster’s Charlotte LaVesseur
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/THRP-Docent-Academy-Speaking-Skills-Outline.pdf 

Videos:

Guiding People with Special Needs

Disability Etiquette – Tips On Interacting With People With Disabilities
https://www.unitedspinal.org/pdf/DisabilityEtiquette.pdf

New London Black Heritage Trail
https://visitnewlondon.org/black-heritage-trail/

New London Black Heritage Trail – 1 Page Map and Guide
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Docent-Academy-Resource-NL-Black-Heritage-Trail-Map.pdf

A Discourse: Delivered at the Funeral of Mr. Ichabod Please, (a Man of Color) In St. James’ Church, New-London, March 5th, 1842 (Classic Reprint) by Robert A. Hallam

Week 7: The Gilded Age and Fine Arts (LAAM) on the Thames / Learning Styles

Gilded Age on the Thames  1870-1900

Lyman Allyn Art Museum
https://www.lymanallyn.org 

Monte Cristo Cottage
https://www.theoneill.org/mcc – in addition to general information on the cottage, this page includes an extensive list of resources on O’Neill

Eugene O’Neill Resource List 
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Eugene-ONeill-Resources.pdf – listing of resources on Eugene O’Neill compiled by Deborah Donovan

Videos:
Eugene O’Neill’s New London: Stories from the Park
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWO_YUYlCa8 

Pequot Chapel 
https://www.pequotchapel.org

Pequot Colony District – 1852 – 1930
livingplaces.com/…/Pequot_Colony_Historic_District

Learning Styles

Understanding Your Learning Style

Week 8: Pulitzer & Nobel Prize Playwright, Performing Arts and Culture on the Thames

Garde Arts Center
https://gardearts.org

The Garde Story
https://gardearts.org/about/#history 

New London Cultural District
https://www.facebook.com/newlondonculturaldistrict/

New London Arts Council
https://www.newlondonartscouncil.org/

Eugene O’Neill

Eugene O’Neill Biography – The Nobel Prize

The Life of Eugene O’Neill

Eugene O’Neill’s Connecticut Connections

Videos:

Eugene O’Neill’s New London – Stories from the Park by Rob Richter

Eugene O’Neill, Revolutionary Playwright – American Experience, PBS

The Hunted and The Haunted: Reflections on Eugene O’Neill with Dr. Gary Vena

Jason Robards on Eugene O’Neill

Week 9: New London Black Heritage Trail / The Visitor Experience

New London Black Heritage Trail
https://visitnewlondon.org/black-heritage-trail/

New London Black Heritage Trail – 1 Page Map and Guide
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/new/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Docent-Academy-Resource-NL-Black-Heritage-Trail-Map.pdf

Week 10: FORT TRUMBULL / Graduation

Fort Trumbull 
https://www.thamesriverheritagepark.org/fort-trumbull/ 
https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/State-Parks/Parks/Fort-Trumbull-State-Park

Friends of Fort Trumbull
https://www.fortfriends.org

 

GRADUATION

Docent Academy Graduation Program – 2022

Docent Academy Slide Show – 2022

Social Media / YouTube / Trip Advisor

If you are on social media, please be sure to follow Thames River Heritage Park and to like, comment about, and share the Park’s posts.

Write a review about the Park and it’s heritage sites in Trip Advisor –https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33852-d12262029-Reviews-Thames_River_Heritage_Park-New_London_Mystic_Country_Connecticut.html  

Contact

Thames River Heritage Park Foundation
P.O. Box 851
New London, CT 06320

Administration
(860) 444-4401 / Email

Weekend Water Taxi Operation
(856) 259-1293

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